One had to admit, Liu Erlong really cared about Yu Xiaogang. Knowing that the Shrek team lacked capable substitutes, she actually introduced Tai Long and Jiang Zhu, the best students from Lanba Academy, to Flender.
Yang Xiong wasn't exactly sure what had happened among them, but eventually Titan met Tang San, and Tang San revealed his second spirit, the Clear Sky Hammer. After that, Tai Long suddenly became his little follower.
Even Yang Xiong sighed at the unpredictability of fate. Somehow, things had circled back to align with the original plot.
Time passed quickly, over a year had gone by. The Spirit Master Tournament was now very close, and so was the time Yang Xiong had planned for graduation.
After a year and a half of hard training, Yang Xiong had gained six levels in one year, now reaching level 38, making him the one with the greatest improvement.
Others also showed considerable progress compared to before.
Dai Mubai had broken through to level 42, becoming the only Soul Ancestor on the team, though he was already seventeen years old.
Tang San had reached level 39, just one level above Yang Xiong now, while Xiao Wu was also at level 38, the same as Yang Xiong.
Oscar, who trained diligently with Yang Xiong throughout the year, reached level 36, a four-level improvement.
Ning Rongrong also reached level 36, though she had only just broken through.
Zhu Zhuqing and Qin Shuang were both at level 34. Both girls trained extremely hard, but due to their lower innate spirit power, they likely wouldn't see further breakthroughs in the short term.
Qin Shuang in particular loved training in the simulated gravity environment, she even trained longer than Yang Xiong and sparred with Zhao Wuji daily. It was as if the gravity simulation was made just for her.
In contrast, Ma Hongjun was only at level 33, the lowest among everyone. Being surpassed by Qin Shuang and Zhu Zhuqing made Flender lose face, after all, Ma Hongjun was his personal disciple.
Judging by everyone's training progress, even by the finals, there might only be four Soul Ancestors at most. Yang Xiong, Tang San, and Xiao Wu had a chance to break through again, but others were still too far behind.
Without the immortal herbs, the Shrek team wasn't as outstanding as in the original story. Still, in terms of talent and cultivation speed, they were already far ahead of their peers. Especially by the next tournament, having all members reach Soul Ancestor, and even several reach Soul King, wouldn't be out of the question.
However, in this current tournament, they would likely just be participating without any real chance of winning. A championship was completely out of reach.
The day before the tournament, all the teachers and students of Shrek gathered again. Yu Xiaogang and Flender explained the rules in detail, including both the preliminary and knockout stages.
It was clear that Yu Xiaogang and the other teachers were confident. Though they didn't expect a championship, placing in the top five in the preliminaries was definitely within reach. Most advanced spirit academies had only one or two Soul Ancestors. Although Shrek's second team had only one, Yang Xiong, Tang San, and even Xiao Wu all had combat strength equivalent to Soul Ancestors, and the rest cooperated very well.
Compared to other teams, Shrek's team had recently trained in the Sunset Forest, gaining rich combat experience and even witnessing real bloodshed, something other ordinary teams couldn't match.
Unlike in the original story, Shrek couldn't afford to hold back their strength this time. The main lineup was quickly confirmed.
The main seven members were Dai Mubai, Tang San, Yang Xiong, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, Tai Long, and Oscar. The substitutes were Qin Shuang, Zhu Zhuqing, Ma Hongjun, and Jiang Zhu.
Tai Long was already at level 38, the same as Yang Xiong, and was originally the captain of Lanba Academy.
Throughout the year, Yang Xiong tried various ways to push himself, even asking Lin Gong to create pressure for him. Yet he still couldn't fully integrate his pair of Explosive Dragon Claws. This made him believe that his claws were no ordinary spirit ability. Full fusion might not be simple, perhaps their dragon bloodline was simply too strong to be fully absorbed.
Yu Xiaogang stuck to his plan, allowing Tang San to handle tactical arrangements since he was the only control-type spirit master on the team.
Yang Xiong didn't really care. He never took the tournament too seriously. As long as he used 70% of his strength in battles, that would be enough. He didn't bother with the rest.
In contrast, Yu Xiaogang and Tang San were far more tense. Both of them had something to prove.
Yang Xiong's spirit power had been catching up to Tang San's over the year, which put a lot of pressure on him. Tang San had always believed himself to be extraordinarily gifted and diligent, but at this rate, Yang Xiong might surpass him. That would make his so-called "innate full spirit power" look like a joke.
Yu Xiaogang, being the team leader and Tang San's mentor, firmly believed that Tang San would become unmatched under his guidance. Yet his disciple now risked being outshone by a teammate, what would that say about his "elite" training?
What made things worse was that Yang Xiong never revealed his spirit abilities. Neither of them had any idea what his spirit rings or beasts were. They'd analyzed him countless times but gained nothing.
Yu Xiaogang even tried to subtly probe him, but Yang Xiong just played dumb. After all, no one could force him.
Rumors began to spread, some said if the two Heaven Dou Royal Academy teams merged, the overall strength would improve. Even the first team's leader Qin Ming supported the idea.
Unfortunately, nothing came of it. The first team was politically complicated, each member having their own background. If the two teams merged, cooperation might actually suffer. The three academy deans valued the second team's potential more than current strength.
Finally, the Spirit Master Tournament began. The original Great Spirit Arena in Heaven Dou City had been renovated, appearing more high-end and even expanding with over ten smaller arenas inside.
The city was packed with people. Outside the arena was a sea of crowds.
The Shrek team, dressed in silver uniforms, marched among all the participating teams.
First to appear was Heaven Dou Royal Academy's first team, followed by the Shrek team. Originally, they were supposed to be the second team, but due to respect from the three deans and Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, the name was specially changed.
If the outside of the arena was packed, the inside was even more crowded, with constant cheers erupting from the stands.
In the center of the VIP seats sat Emperor Xue Ye. On either side were Ning Fengzhi and a senior from Spirit Hall, most likely the Heaven Dou region's Platinum Bishop, Salas, who was also the true host of this tournament.
Although Yang Xiong had participated in many spirit battles before, he had never taken part in one this widely watched across the continent. No wonder Yu Xiaogang and the others took it so seriously.
After the drawing, Shrek's first opponent turned out to be Lanba Academy, leaving Yang Xiong speechless.
Lanba Academy was already one of the weakest in the region, and now even their captain had been recruited to Shrek. Their combat strength was laughably low.
As expected, they were completely crushed the moment the match started. Within just half a minute, their entire team was knocked out. Yang Xiong hadn't even used his full strength before the match ended.
According to Tang San's strategy, Yang Xiong, while part of the lineup, stood at the back, playing a defensive role to protect Oscar and Ning Rongrong, the two support types. He also served as a surprise attacker, since his speed was fast enough to be considered an agility-type attacker.
Yang Xiong was perfectly content with this role. He had no intention of being a hero. Using 70% of his power was more than enough.
He did, however, notice Liu Erlong. Even though Lanba Academy was crushed, she didn't seem to care at all, focusing entirely on Yu Xiaogang. Yang Xiong couldn't help but feel speechless, truly, the Douluo Continent lived up to its nickname as the "romance continent." Why did all the women seem to care more about love than ambition?
Yang Xiong also had one puzzling concern. Normally, Xiao Wu shouldn't have been allowed to participate in the tournament, especially with powerful figures like Sword Douluo in the stands, and other Title Douluo possibly appearing. Yet she acted completely unbothered, which made Yang Xiong start to feel suspicious.
Over the following days, Shrek's team continued to win match after match. Some of the battle spirit masters shone brightly, while Yang Xiong remained low-profile in the rear.
Though Yang Xiong didn't care much about the competition, the hype around it drew his attention. He started watching other teams' matches.
The Five Elemental Academies lived up to their reputations as established powerhouses. Every team performed brilliantly. Especially the captains, who had all reached Soul Ancestor level and displayed impressive abilities. Their depth was far beyond Shrek's current level.
Yang Xiong even saw his older brother Yang Wei in action. Although Yang Wei was only a substitute for Purple Star Academy, he was already at level 35. His Iron Sword spirit was incredibly powerful, a rare offensive tool-type spirit.
It was well known that tool spirits were much harder to train in early stages compared to beast spirits. Though Yang Wei's spirit power wasn't particularly high, his clan had provided him with abundant resources. His physique and abilities were excellent, and his clan even had inherited sword techniques, things that normal spirit masters could never match.
Yang Xiong began to reflect. After all, Yang Wei was his blood brother—the closest family he had in this world. Maybe it was time to start paying closer attention to him, or even make plans for his future. Especially since Yang Wei had treated him well during their childhood. Although they never really talked about cultivation methods, Yang Wei had his own training path and his father's support.
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